Men's Tennis

MARKSOO NAMED BIG SKY TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK....AGAIN

Mar 12, 2013

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For the third time this season, and fifth time during his short career, Sacramento State sophomore Marek Marksoo was named the Big Sky Conference's Men's Tennis Player of the Week.

Marksoo, who is the Hornets' No. 1 singles player, also earned the Big Sky's weekly honor on Feb. 26 and Jan. 22.

Although Sacramento State went 1-3 last week, Marksoo has another impressive week, going 3-0 in singles play at No. 1, and 2-1 in doubles play at No. 1. That included a victory over 24th-ranked Cal's No. 1 player Ben McLachlan. In fact, Marksoo had victories over a pair of ranked opponents, knocking off 56th-ranked McLachlan in three sets, and pairing with teammate Aliaksandr Malko to beat Cal's 18th-ranked doubles team Campbell Johnson and Chris Konigsfeldt by an 8-6 score.

Marksoo, who did not play on Sunday against Nevada because of an injury, posted three singles wins over a three-day span. That included the win over McLachlan (6-4, 4-6, 12-10), and straight sets victories over UT Arlington's Yauheni Yakauleu (7-6, 6-3) and Northern Arizona's Shaun Waters (6-4, 6-4). The win over Waters proved to be important as Sacramento State beat Northern Arizona, 4-3, in its Big Sky Conference opener.

The only loss Marksoo suffered all week came against UT Arlington where he and Malko lost their match at No. 1 in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (7-4). Marksoo and Malko also had an 8-5 win over a tandem from Northern Arizona.

Marksoo has now won six straight singles matches and is 9-3 this season. He is also 8-2 with teammate Malko in doubles play. A first team all-Big Sky selection last year as a freshman Marksoo now has a career record of 26-6 in singles play, and 18-10 in doubles. The Hornets conclude a six-match homestand today against Nevada at noon.